Tuesday, March 30, 2010
DIGICEL RISING STARS GOES PUBLIC FOR NEW HOST
Jamaica chooses their new host...
Digicel Rising Stars has returned to TVJ for the 7th year and promises to be more exciting than ever. This year the popular talent show returns with a new set, new features and the most exciting change: A New Series Host.
For the first time in Digicel Rising Stars' history, the producers are allowing the Jamaican viewers to choose their own host. Digicel Rising Stars will head to Montego Bay tomorrow (Tuesday, March 30) and Kingston on Thursday (April 1) for the first set of auditions for this the 7th season of the number one show on Jamaican TV. These auditions however, will not be open to prospective contestants but instead for any Jamaican who thinks they have the skills and pizzazz to be the next host of Digicel Rising Stars.
With the exit of 2007 Miss Jamaica World Yendi Phillipps as host of the hit series, the producers of Digicel Rising Stars made the decision to open auditions for the host of the 2010 Digicel Rising Stars to the public. Series producer Sharon Schroeter believes opening the auditions for the Digicel Rising Stars series host is the best way forward: “Anyone in Jamaica, male or female, over the age of 18 who believes they have the talent the vibe and the excitement to be the next host for Digicel Rising Stars can audition. Jamaica has, over the last several years, embraced to competition and we thought it would be a great idea for Jamaica to choose who they feel is the best person to be the next host.”
Tuesday March 30 will be the first of two auditions from which the new host will be chosen. This audition will be held at the Wexford Court Hotel in Montego between 2pm and 7pm. The second audition will be in Kingston on Thursday April 1 at the Knutsford Court Hotel between 12pm and 7pm. After the two auditions in Montego Bay and Kingston, producers of the show will choose six finalists who will compete for the enviable position of Digicel Rising Stars series host. The six will then have the opportunity to show Jamaica their capabilities by hosting the contestant auditions at the five locations throughout Jamaica. At the end of each audition show (to be aired in June) viewers will get their chance to vote for who they believe has what it takes to capture the main stage of Digicel Rising Stars. Jamaica will then be introduced to their new Digicel Rising Stars’ series host at the much anticipated first Live show on Sunday July 4.
So if you think you have what it takes to be the next Digicel Rising Stars' host, bring it to the auditions this Tuesday at the Wexford Court Hotel in Montego Bay or in Kingston on Thursday at the Knutsford Court Hotel and get your chance at stardom.
DIGICEL RISING STARS' HOST AUDITION DATES
Montego Bay: Tuesday March 30 - Wexford Court Hotel 2PM – 7PM
Kingston: Thursday April 1 - Knutsford Court Hotel 12PM – 7PM
Monday, March 29, 2010
THE WOMEN OF MAGNUM KINGS & QUEENS OF DANCEHALL
...two women have reigned supreme on the Magnum stage.
The third season of Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall continues at Weekendz Bistro and Bar on Constant Spring Road at 9:30pm.
Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall has over the years provided equal opportunity to both male and female contestants. At the end of the competition both the Magnum King and Queen of Dancehall receive the same amount of prize money, a professionally recorded single and video. Through this effort over the last two seasons two women have reigned supreme on the Magnum stage.
In 2008 Baby Tash came out on top and since then there has been no turning back for her. It was the start of an exciting journey of exploration and discovery in the music industry. She gave up her job at Sandals Montego Bay in order to focus on her blossoming career and has so far received wide acclaim for her music.
Her single Mix Up was produced by the experienced Skatta Burrell, while the video was directed by award winning video director, Jay Will. Baby Tash has also done stints at Manchester Fiesta, GT Taylor Christmas Extravaganza, Stone Love Anniversary, Mavado’s Album Launch and Fully Loaded.
In 2009 another female inherited the Magnum Queen of Dancehall crown from Baby Tash. Tiki, wowed the crowd with her intoxicating lyrics and had them moving to her Tiki Wine, since then the artiste has not looked back.
Tiki, who was motivated to enter the music business by her deceased cousin, believed in her lyrical abilities including her song writing skills. The young deejay started singing and writing songs while still a youngster at 12 years old. She captured the sights of Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall when she auditioned in May Pen with the song Hard Core. Since winning the competition the artiste has released several songs including the infamous Tiki Wine. Tiki has also performed on several shows overseas and is now signed to Out-A-Road records.
The concept of giving equal opportunity to women on the Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall stage has been very popular with dancehall fans as it gives voters a choice to choose both a King and a Queen. Both females have development into accomplished artistes at various stages for their development.
Watch the princesses of Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall perform for you tonight at Weekendz Bistro and Bar, but if you can’t be there tune in exclusively on TVJ every Saturday night at 9:30pm
Monday, March 15, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
MAGNUM KINGS AND QUEENS OF DANCEHALL: WHEEL AN COME AGAIN
Last week only 10 of the top 20 performed and tonight will see the other ten contestants who made it through the audition rounds show their talent. The likes of Gibralta, Beego Blood, Blackberry and DJ Mary will take the stage to prove to Jamaica whether they have what it takes to wear the Magnum crown.
The show tonight will also feature a top flight guest artiste, local dancehall dancers and fashion by Mamayashi.
With the promise of Millions of dollars worth of cash and prizes to be won, Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall has been able to attract the best dancehall talent in the country and has proved its legitimacy as dancehall's premier talent show.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
CREATING JAMAICA’S MOST POPULAR GAME SHOW
...and when the lights hit the stage and The Banker takes his seat, Jamaica knows it’s time for Digicel Deal or No Deal.
Jamaican television has been captivated by what has become the number one game show on television in the English speaking Caribbean, Digicel Deal or No Deal. By no means is the creation of this hit show a simple task and the producers also had the weight of the expectations of a discriminating public to bear.
Digicel Deal or No Deal is the culmination of years of planning and deliberation as to how to bring one of the top international game shows to Jamaica’s shores while at the same time giving it the look and feel of an authentic Jamaican production.
Mike Hogan of New Comm and Executive Producer of Digicel Rising Stars, can be credited as being the brainchild behind this vision becoming reality: “We took a real hard look at how we could bring such a high quality and exciting program to Jamaica. The fact is, Deal or No Deal is an international brand and we had to ensure that we stepped up to the plate and gave it the respect it deserves, the show creators Endemol would hove it no other way”.
The person given the responsibility of bringing this vision to the reality of Jamaican television was head of Anyhoo Productions Limited, Producer/Director, Tanya Taylor. It was Tanya’s job to assemble the team and ensure all the elements were in place to make Digicel Deal or No Deal a success. The team comprised some of the top videographers in the region as well as other support staff that would rival any world class production team.
“It was less than two months of intense pre-production. Digicel, ATL, Wisynco, Pizza Hut and General Accident believed in New Comm’s ability to take the product and deliver Jamaica's newest craze. We used the old Studio at the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica. Mike believed in the studio so we partnered with PBCJ to renovate the space to what we needed to function for the month we were to be in production”.
Choosing a studio in retrospect might have been the easier part of bringing Digicel Deal or No Deal to TVJ. The set design and décor for Digicel Deal or No Deal was done by Michelle Simone Clarke popularly known as Siim. Siim is noted for creating some of the most eye catching sets in Jamaica such as the set for Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall, The KFC Quiz Show and was also the art director for Shaggy’s Church Heathen Video.
With the set design in good hands and the studio ready it was now to the hard part, the contestants, Tanya Taylor revealed: “The contestant selection was tricky. With only about 3 weeks to filming, we placed ads in our print partner The Jamaica Observer and on TVJ. From the entries received we, and when I say we I really mean the Godsend Assistant Production Coordinator Sanjay Ramanand, went through every entry received and selected the most interesting responses. From there we invited the applicants and their supporters to a casting session. From that session we selected twenty seven contestants for season one. We then created files on them for The Banker who does his own additional research which he reveals on the show.”
With that done it was time to select the The Banker; there was intense consideration of who in Jamaica would make a perfect candidate for this role. According to Tanya Taylor: “It was important to select someone with a numbers background who also has insight into TV production. They then had to go through Banker training with Endemol. The Endemol team put their stamp of approval on him as he passed their tests with flying colours.
The show would not be complete without the 26 authentic Jamaican beauties who are vested with the responsibility of holding the 26 cases that are key to contestants walking away with either pocket money or a big payday. The responsibility of choosing the girls was down to Associate Producer, Stylist and a beauty herself Natalie Parboosingh. She revealed: “When choosing models for Digicel Deal or No Deal we held a large casting and looked for beautiful Jamaican girls who possessed poise, personality and lots of energy, as standing on the set for an hour can be quite exhausting we needed girls who we felt could keep their smiles on during this process. We looked for girls who together would show all the races of our Jamaican people, which embodied our motto. 'Out of many one people'."
Parboosingh revealed that the 26 ladies brought a different dimension to the show with their diverse personalities which always created wonderful energy backstage: “The backstage area entailed a lot of heels running around, pinning of dresses whenever there was a wardrobe malfunction, changing of hairstyles and makeup after each shoot which on some days were as many as three. The goal was always to ensure that all 26 beauties were checked off and perfect from "head to toe" seconds before call time on set.”
Digicel Deal or No Deal is the culmination of years of thinking and months of planning and execution. When host Simon Croskill says ‘Ladies Please’ it is clear that all this effort has paid off and when the lights hit the stage and The Banker takes his seat, Jamaica knows it’s time for Digicel Deal or No Deal.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
MAGNUM KINGS AND QUEENS OF DANCEHALL FOR WEEKENDZ TONIGHT
...Weekendz Bistro & Bar on Constant Spring Road will be transformed into dancehall mecca.
Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall will, for the third time, return to Weekendz Bistro and Bar on Constant Spring Road for its first live show of its third season. The show will also be aired live on TVJ at 9:30pam tonight.
Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall has travelled far and wide to bring authentic Jamaican talent to the fore. Over the last 5 weeks, the competition has presented princes and princess vying for the grand prize of one million dollars each, a single and a video.
After successful audition shows were aired from the five locations: Montego Bay, Portmore, May Pen, Ocho Rios and Kingston, on Television Jamaica (TVJ) and RETV, all is set for the live eliminations. From each of the five audition locations four contestants were chosen by public vote and a total of twenty contestants have advanced to this round of the competition.
Now at the live shows, the 20 finalists have to chance to show their skills and the public’s votes will determine who stays as two contestants (1 prince and 1 princess) with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated each week.
The third season of the all-dancehall talent competition is expected to run until May when the winners will be known.
The live shows include a back stage feature hosted by comedian Pretty Boy Floyd. This section of the show will see Floyd interviewing patrons during the show while showcasing the contestants off-stage. Jamaican designs will again be featured each week and Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall will premier the latest dancehall fashions by some of the top designers in Jamaica today.
Beginning tonight Weekendz Bistro & Bar on Constant Spring Road will be transformed into a dancehall mecca. The twenty Princes and Princesses from the five auditions will begin the journey to become the 2010 Magnum King and Queen of Dancehall. In the end only two will be crowned supreme royalty.
Watch TVJ Tonight at 9:30pm when for the third straight year the world’s top dancehall show will be live.
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